32 answers

Acne

Hi gals,

My dd is having some pre-teen hormonal changes and recently is experiencing lots of acne. Her skin seemed to have erupted just overnight. When I was her age, my acne would flare up once/ month with one big blemish. Her facial skin, however, is clustered with acne (esp. the "t-zone"). We're just beginning this phase, so I'm open to trying some hopeful products, dietary changes, supplements, etc... to help tone it down a bit. Any suggestions?

Thank you, M.

1 mom found this helpful

What can I do next?

So What Happened?™

Wow! FANTASTIC responses, ladies! It was nice to be able to have my dd read the responses you generously gave about the acne issue. As she is a pre-teen, I am the last person she wants to take advice from : )So, to have yours was very empowering and inspiring for her.
We are going to try several of the ideas: I had no idea that some of the remedies you gave even existed. I also appreciate the info that it may take some time for the new skin regimen to show results. We'll be looking forward to Mamasourcing with you more in the near future. LOVE-- M. (and DD)

Featured Answers

M.,
I would try the All Clear line from BeautiControl. I saw a couple other reccommendations for it in the responses. It is about the strongest thing you can buy over the counter. I used to use proactive and just recently learned that it is probably why many of my towels are now discolored. I liked it but hated the fact they sent it to you automatically. Even when signing up for the longest possible time between shipments I still had too much of some product and not enough of others.
Whatever you decided get her started on a good cleansing... regime. Even w/o acne this is so important for her skin. If she uses something with retinol she will definately need a sunblock or need to stay out of the sun (this is not something a teen appreciates).
I also know at that age when I suffered I had to stay away from dark pops or cola's. Sprite/7Up are okay but she should drink lots of water. Limit other foods such as chocolate and greasy/fried foods. Good Luck!
www.beautipage.com/spa_mouahidy

1 mom found this helpful

I had my daughter try Tea Tree Oil on hers. She kept having them on her forehead and it seemed like they just weren't going away. After a couple applications I could see a real difference.

D. in Dillonvale

1 mom found this helpful

You could try the proactive which can be ordered online. Also, another good product that is a lot cheaper and works well is clearasil daily blackhead control. That treats black heads as well as regular acne. I use it myself and it has worked better than anything else I have tried. I break out about a week before my period and since I have started using the clearasil I have not had any breakouts.
D.

I am 31 and have been married for almost 12 yrs. My husband and I have 3 boys ages 10,7 and 4.

1 mom found this helpful

More Answers

I just wanted to let you know that when you change your skin care regime it takes 28 days to see the difference really. I would recomend tea tree. It is a natural antibacterial oil. You can check out the tea tree line of products from The Body Shop at Home. We are a values based company that sells nature inspired products. I use the tea tree oil on my blemishes and it clears them up within a day or two. I would love to send you some samples. My website is www.thebodyshopathome.com/web/aoaks. Let me know if you are interested in the samples and I will get them to you.
Good Luck.

2 moms found this helpful

I have had acne (t-zone) since I was a pre-teen (I'm 38). I have tried lots of things. Proactiv worked, but it was expensive, and with the automatic shipments I always had too much of one thing and not enough of another. What works for me now is a mild acne wash with salicylic acid, followed by 2.5% benzoyl peroxide, and then a light moisturizer/emu oil. My skin isn't perfect, but it's much, much better. Please check out the Regimen on acne.org. It's essentially what I'm doing now and I've had good success. Any system needs time before you see results. Give it a good month or two. It might get worse before it gets better, but it will get better. Good luck!!

2 moms found this helpful

When I had acne, I used Proactive. It cleared my acne right up. It works great but is a little expensive. You can order it off the Internet.

1 mom found this helpful

I read lots of suggestions for proactive. I never tried it so I can't say. My only recommendation is to find a cleansing, toning, moisturizing line and stick with it. Don't keep switching (stick with one for at least a month) and I wouldn't use different products that are different brands. I use Merle Norman make up and cleanser (my mom took me when I first started to wear makeup so I would know how to take care of my skin) At the time they didn't have the cleansing selection they do now so I used Noxema for many years, in college I used a lot of Neutrogena and had good luck with that, then I sold Mary Kay for a couple of years and I like their cleansers as well. Now I'm back with Merle Norman. Good Luck! I have three daughters and now I'll be dealing with the same issues.

1 mom found this helpful

Hi M.,

Mary Kay has a nice teen product called Velocity. The moisurizer is oil-obsorbing. It is important to moisurize skin even on oily skin. Deep cleansing w/o moisurizer leads to skin producing more oil and more acne. They also have an acne gel treatment($7) that is much nicer, less harsh than Oxy. The cleanser & moistuize are around $10 or so each.
Good Luck-
A.

1 mom found this helpful

There are many acne meds out there now days. When I was that age and going through it, all there was was Clearisil. Now there are many to choose from. They have some that cover and clear, some that hide and clear. Since you are in nursing, maybe they could help with something, too.

1 mom found this helpful

Cut down on the fried foods, and oily or greasy stuff, cut back on chocolate (I know this is a silly thing), sodas, and dairy products, etc., and get a good astringent for her to clean her face with as well as a facial scrub, if she is currently using soap on her face have her stop. I used Clearskin from Avon for all of my previous children and am starting the 10 year old boy I am currently raising on it now.
I know (as a cosmetologist) there are a lot of good products on the market, I have used alcohol and peroxide in the past as well and believe me they will work, I just found the Clearskin line does as well and has a bigger variety to select from, like blemish sticks for just certain areas, masks, etc.

1 mom found this helpful

M.,
I would try the All Clear line from BeautiControl. I saw a couple other reccommendations for it in the responses. It is about the strongest thing you can buy over the counter. I used to use proactive and just recently learned that it is probably why many of my towels are now discolored. I liked it but hated the fact they sent it to you automatically. Even when signing up for the longest possible time between shipments I still had too much of some product and not enough of others.
Whatever you decided get her started on a good cleansing... regime. Even w/o acne this is so important for her skin. If she uses something with retinol she will definately need a sunblock or need to stay out of the sun (this is not something a teen appreciates).
I also know at that age when I suffered I had to stay away from dark pops or cola's. Sprite/7Up are okay but she should drink lots of water. Limit other foods such as chocolate and greasy/fried foods. Good Luck!
www.beautipage.com/spa_mouahidy

1 mom found this helpful

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